Mahmood Hussein, CEO from Global Drone Solutions, chats to Trevor Long and Nick Bennett on Talking Technology about how to ditch your job and become a drone pilot. Getting your drone pilots license is the new add-on skill to make you more employable, broadening your horizons across sectors and industries that previously may have been out of range.

It is bewildering that the average Australian can now purchase drones, a technology that was once only available in stealth military operations, simply by strolling down to their local JB HI FI.

Thanks to their commercial availability, the technology has become an increasingly popular choice for businesses to innovate new ways to offer a service (I’m looking at you, Domino’s pizza delivery drone.

For businesses, however, earning accreditation under Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulations to actually fly a drone can be a headache, and even then it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll know how to effectively pilot the technology or apply it to your business.

Training existing and upcoming businesses with the knowledge to fly drones and apply them to their work is Perth drone training startup Global Drone Solutions.

Launched by Mahmood Hussein, former CEO of automotive distributor Turbotech, the CASA-approved startup has been training employees from small to large businesses to become drone pilots.

Mr Hussein owns Global Drone Solutions in Applecross, a training provider helping to unlock a multitude of career paths that did not exist just five years ago.

“There are a number of industries where drones are really starting to gain traction,” he said.

“Mines and asset inspection companies were among the first to see the potential for drone footage to reduce costs and improve safety but there are now more than 150 different business applications and that number is growing every day.”

From farmers inspecting their crops to wedding videographers chasing panoramic aerial shots, drones are becoming more commonplace; and qualified drone pilots are increasingly difficult to find.

Global Drone Solutions is one of just two approved drone pilot training schools in WA and Mr Hussein said demand for the five-day course was growing.

“The course is approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and you end up with three certifications: a drone pilot’s licence, radio operator’s licence and an English proficiency certificate,” Mr Hussein said.

“Having the two licences allows you to work in any controlled airspace with permission and they are a pre-requisite to getting insurance.

“Global Drone Solutions’ key point of difference is that we provide training on how to establish a drone business.

“Some of the people we have coming to us are already employed by mining or asset inspection companies but we also have many who have realised that they can launch an entire new career with a five-day training course.”

Drone schools in full flight

With a number of WA’s biggest businesses relying on unmanned drones to reduce surveying and inspection costs, new schools are teaching drone pilots how to fly. The sharp uptake of remotely controlled drone technology is creating a niche industry in Western Australia, with new local businesses training pilots for a growing number of commercial licences.

Drone schools in full flight – Global Drone Solutions

Global Drone Solutions is the brainchild of Mahmood Hussein, a former turnaround specialist, who has set up his business and training school in Applecross.

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Mr Hussein said the biggest uptake of drone technology was in the agriculture, construction, and mining sectors, including offshore oil and gas, where shutdowns to inspect safety flares could be expensive and required significant inputs of time and labour.

There were many other, less industrial, uses for drones, Mr Hussein said, such as for wedding photography. “The applications are only limited by our imagination; every day you’re seeing new applications introduced,” Mr Hussein said.